Summer Sleep Survival Guide
Summer is here! Woohoo!
But wait, we have kids.
And if your kids are like mine, they turn into hot (literally and figuratively) messes when their sleep routine is off.
So how do we mange to enjoy the summer, but still keep our little one’s sleep on track? Can our children’s sleep and summer both be enjoyed without sacrificing one for the other?
Why yes, yes they can.
Here are my top summertime sleep tips for families.
Keep it cool and dark!
65-70 degrees Fahrenheit is the recommended room temperature for sleeping. This isn’t just for kids, but for moms and dads as well. The cool environment mimics what the body wants to do naturally during the sleep process- lower its core temperature. And again, this helps your child to go to sleep quicker. In summer, that means nearly all of us will need to take steps to cool down our sleeping spaces in order to sleep comfortably:
Keep your bedroom cool throughout the day, including keeping shades drawn
Use fans and air conditioners to regulate your bedroom temperature
Keep your bed linens and covers light and breathable, made from natural fabrics like cotton and linen
Don’t over-dress for sleep—and try sleeping in the nude
It is also equally as important for the bedroom to be dark! When the brain perceives darkness, it sends signals to your child’s brain to release melatonin into the bloodstream. Since melatonin is the hormone that makes your child feel sleepy and helps them fall asleep easily, we want to encourage this as much as possible.
Make your child’s sleeping location as dark as you can, especially for nap time so that Mother Nature does the work for you. At home, this is relatively easy to do, but when traveling, you may need to be a tad creative.
Maintain a consistent bedtime routine!
Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean you can’t continue your bedtime routine as normal. You may have a late night here or there, and your little one will likely fall asleep in the car on the way home leaving you no choice but to transfer them when home, but when possible, giving your child the predictability of a routine to fall back on will greatly help sleep stay on track.
Schedule Down Time
One of the biggest mistakes that parents make during the business of summer is OVER scheduling. While you want to enjoy every bit of the summer activities with you little one, it’s also extremely important to carve out time for rest. Its super easy for little ones to get overstimulated and we know that when this happens it makes sleep 10x harder to accomplish.
If your little one still has scheduled naps throughout the day, plan for some downtime before those naps. This is going to allow your child the opportunity to “cool down” before they are expected to sleep. Think about it, if you just got back for a jog and I asked you to lay down and take a nap, would you be able to successfully fall asleep? Heck no! We wouldn’t expect your kiddo to be able to either!
Stay Consistent When Traveling
It’s easy to bend to bend the rules around sleep when we want to enjoy the summer. Maybe you’re sharing a room with your kiddos in a hotel or you’re staying with family members who might be bothered by crying or might judge you. If you let go of your boundaries and let your little one into bed with you or begin feeding them all night long to keep them from crying, things can really get thrown way off track. Toddlers will also test boundaries… “Oh, grandma says it’s okay to stay up later? Then I am!” Try to hold firm to your boundaries and stay consistent.
Make sleep a priority
Having fun in the summer is definitely a must, but you can still make sleep a priority. And I highly suggest that you do. When we prioritize sleep we have a happier child to enjoy all of our most loved summer activities! Does that mean sleep has to be perfect every single night? Absolutely not. You’re going to have days that are off. As long as you strive to get things back on track and prioritize sleep, you should be able to enjoy every ounce of summer!
And if summer fun, parties, and travel get the best of you… I’ll be right here when you need some help!